The 72-Hour Race to Build a Gonzo People Mover

On an insanely hot Sunday in July, 16 sweaty, exhausted teams from around the country rolled, pedaled, skated and cranked a collection of unusual machines across an asphalt field in Brooklyn, New York's McCarren Park. The teams were vying for the $5000 grand prize in the first-ever Red Bull Creation event—an attempt to add a little competitive spirit to the nascent maker movement. They had been given three days to hammer, weld and wire together as much as 200 pounds of gear they brought with them with whatever they could salvage from a communal junk pile, as well as from the streets of New York City itself. On day one, the challenge was revealed: Construct a device capable of moving a 100-pound person without using fossil fuels. The results would be judged by a panel of professional technology junkies, including Popular Mechanics' senior editor Glenn Derene.What ensued was a down-to-the-wire drama of competition, imagination and a surprising amount of cooperation as the teams pursued the cash award and a state-of-the-art laser cutter for each winning team member. Most important, the winners got the ultimate in geek bragging rights—and the opportunity to bring forth order from chaos.

The 72-Hour Race to Build a Gonzo People Mover

The 72-Hour Race to Build a Gonzo People Mover

On an insanely hot Sunday in July, 16 sweaty, exhausted teams from around the country rolled, pedaled, skated and cranked a collection of unusual machines across an asphalt field in Brooklyn, New York's McCarren Park. The teams were vying for the $5000 grand prize in the first-ever Red Bull Creation event—an attempt to add a little competitive spirit to the nascent maker movement. They had been given three days to hammer, weld and wire together as much as 200 pounds of gear they brought with them with whatever they could salvage from a communal junk pile, as well as from the streets of New York City itself. On day one, the challenge was revealed: Construct a device capable of moving a 100-pound person without using fossil fuels. The results would be judged by a panel of professional technology junkies, including Popular Mechanics' senior editor Glenn Derene.

What ensued was a down-to-the-wire drama of competition, imagination and a surprising amount of cooperation as the teams pursued the cash award and a state-of-the-art laser cutter for each winning team member. Most important, the winners got the ultimate in geek bragging rights—and the opportunity to bring forth order from chaos.

1.21 Jigawatts

1.21 Jigawatts

These Back to the Future fans built the winning creation: a human-size, plywood exercise wheel outfitted with a dot-matrix-style printer constructed from seven servo-controlled spray-paint cans. The printer was fitted with a cellphone antenna and SIM card, and audience members at the competition were encouraged to text words to the printer. The result was a painted word-salad trail somewhere between poetry and vandalism.